Heretic Of Zero
by MaskedAndDangerous
Summary: Sometimes, what we need is not what we want. Louise wanted a dragon or a gryphon. What she got was a knight, and so much more then that.
1. Prologue

Heretic of Zero

A Final Fantasy: Tactics/Familiar of Zero Crossover

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Prologue: Endings and Beginnings

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Ramza pushed his sister into the arms of his companions as the Blood Angel recovered. To Agrias and Meliadoul, he gave what he suspected to be his final order. "Get Alma back to the surface, protect her as you would the princess. I will handle the demon." Both of the knights looked at him as if he had grown fangs. "Just go! Before the portal closes!" His companions nodded before grabbing the young girl and dragging her back, Mustadio and Count Orlandeau assisting them. Ramza gave them one last reassuring glance, before turning back to the demon.

The once beautiful form of the High Seraph was rapidly rotting without a host. Ramza fought down his breakfast as the creature opened it's skeletal mouth. "_**Impossible...this end to meet...I see it now, too late. In you...his blood, my vanquisher in times...long past.**_" The creature rose, it's proportions now distorted into a twisted parody of a human, thin and taller then three of the tallest men. Ramza smelt brimstone as the last of it's flesh crumbled. "_** But not so soon...shall I accept defeat...**_" The Arch-Seraph glowed with blue energy. Ramza could see the fury in it's black, soulless eyes. "_**Your soul itself shall not escape my wrath!**_"

The battle for the fate of the world had begun.

Gripping his sword, Ramza lept at the skeletal demon, slashing at the creature with ferocity more keeping with an animal then the final scion of the Beoulve. The strength of the blow would have sundered a mortal, but barely scratched Ultima. It laughed evilly as it threw Ramza back, and then began collecting energy in it's hand. Ramza rose to his feet, just in time for the demon to finish it's incantation.

"_**Behold! Simmering life-light! DIVINE ULTIMA!**_"

Ramza felt like his entire being was on fire as the spell hit him. His armor took the brunt of the damage, but it still hurt. Still, the divine armor he wore already began mending his body as he rose to his feet. "Nice trick." he said, before he began his own chant. "Brush off vanity and show reality! _Ultima!_" With that, the squire sent the demon's namesake spell back at it, the creature stumbling from the magical strike.

Ultima went into a rage. "_**You... dare! You dare strike at me with mine own spell?**_" Without thought of strategy, the demon rushed at Ramza. He barely parried it's rage induced strike with his blade, the strength of the blow echoing up his arm. "_**You shall **_**pay**_**for your insolence!**_" It began another barrage of blows at it's opponent.

Ramza smirked despite himself. Every moment the creature spat insults at him was one it was not using it's vastly superior spellcrafts. Ramza waited for his moment, before striking out with a crushing blow to the head, cracking the demon's crown. Ultima seemed stunned by the power of the strike, stumbling for a second.

A second which Ramza used. "Sacrifice." He muttered, wincing as the price of the dark ritual manifested. Dark energy burned down his blade. Moving with the speed of a ninja, the squire charged his opponent, thrusting his blade through the Blood Angel's bloody heart. He felt his his body go numb as he channeled dark energy down it. The blade exploded, unable to handle the strain.

Ultima fell to her knees, shadows whirling around her. "_**Had I but... more power...**_" She looked into the eyes of her killer. "_**You... have killed us both...**_"

Ramza's brown eyes seemed to harden. "Then my conscience will rest easy, that I traded my life for my sister's." A moment and an eternity passed. Ramza thought he heard whispers in his ears, but ignored them. He saw a beautiful green light.

Then the Airship Graveyard exploded.

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The Springtime Familiar Ritual. A time when students of the Tristain Academy of Magic may prove their ability as mages and as nobility. It is a symbol of status to summon a familiar, and many a fantasy had been built up for that day.

For the most part those fantasies had been unfufilled, as most of those students that wished for manticore or dragons found themselves with much more mundane creatures such as dogs or birds. However, there were outliers. One student summoned a bugbear, the sign of a strong earth affinity. Another summoned a fire lizard, it's element matching her own burning passions. And then there was the outlier in the opposite direction.

Poor Louise de la Valliere, who had yet to summon a single thing.

It wasn't as if she was not trying. The youngest of the house Valliere desperately wished for a familiar, something, _anything_, to prove she was not a failure. Her results thus far had been... less then satisfactory. Two explosions, and not a familiar to be seen.

Ignoring the laughter, the taunts, the condemnations of her classmates, Louise closed her eyes. "_I just need to concentrate. Focus. Remember Mother's Rule of Steel._" She stepped forward one more time, exhaling as she cleared her mind of nothing but her incantation.

"My Name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." She raised her wand, the familiar tingle of power at her fingertips. Something was different this time.

"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, heed my Summoning and bring forth my Familiar!"

There was another explosion, slightly larger then before, and the class was once again split between those laughing at the failure of the Zero and those choking on the smoke. Louise felt her cheeks go red, and she turned to the class professor, Colbert, preparing to ask for another chance. Then she noticed a hazy figure in the smoke cloud. "_Could it be?_" The smoke thinned as she stepped forward.

It was a young man, garbed in black armor. "_After all this, I summoned a commoner?_" Louise thought as her eyes wandered to his face. His hair was the blonde of thatch, and his amber-brown eyes seemed to seem almost hazy in the setting sun. His face seemed to have a resigned look, which gradually began to switch to shock. Normally, the young magus would have complained that there must have been some mistake, but beggers couldn't be choosers, and commoner familiar was better then no familiar at all. Louise moved quickly, finishing the incantation.

"Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, grant your Blessings upon this creature, and bind it as my familiar."

She sealed the contract with a kiss to the leaning man's cheek. As of now, he was her familiar. However, when she drew back, everyone gasped. She wondered if she had done something wrong.

Professor Colbert's voice was very concerned as he spoke up. "Miss Valliere, are you alright?"

Louise crossed her arms. "I'm perfectly fine, professor." She felt something wet, and looked down. Her once pristine white shirt was stained red. She heard a thump as her familiar collapsed to the ground, bloodloss catching up with him.

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, daughter of the legendary Heavy Wind, follower of her mother's Rule of Steel, screamed. She was not alone in doing so.


	2. Awakening

Heretic of Zero

A Final Fantasy: Tactics/Familiar of Zero Crossover

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Chapter 1: Awakening

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_Infirmiry_

Louise paced nervously outside of the Infirmiry, waiting for news on her familiar's condition. She was filled with conflicting emotions, as every moment grew longer and longer in her mind. She had summoned a familiar, but he was a commoner. And yet, he was also a warrior of some sort. The armor he had been wearing, as well as the massive dents it carried, were a testament of that.

What sort of person was she, then, if she had summoned a familiar such as that? A (literally) blooded knight, if that was truly what he was. "_Am I to become like my mother?_" the noble pondered, unsure whether to shiver or squeal with joy. Many things could have been said about the Heavy Wind, but a failure was not one of them. If that truly was her destiny, then she would embrace it.

The infirmiry door opened, and Louise brushed her thoughts aside as the nurse came out, her typical cheery look on her face. The matronly woman gave her a friendly nod. Louise spoke up, the concern in her voice surprising herself. "Will he be okay?"

The nurse gave a hearty chuckle. "Go ask him yourself, deary." Then she walked off, to check on the few other patients she had. What did she mean by that. Even with the reagent used, no one could recover that quickly... right?

Louise stood their dumbly for a second. "I guess I will then..." She hung in the doorway for a second, before sighing and stepping through. Though there were two cots, only one was occupied. Her familiar lay with his back to the door, staring at the second mood slowly moving away from the horizon. He muttered something that she did not understand.

"Excuse me?" she said, slightly nervous. The magus watched as the familiar turned and caught her eyes, turning as he did so. He moved out of the bed with surprising grace, standing in front of her. His tunic was missing, revealing a chest covered in scars (both old and new) and bruises... and muscle. She blushed slightly, before meeting her familiar's eyes. They seemed so old, despite the youth of his features. In a lot of ways, the familiar reminded her of her father, although she couldn't place exactly why. "_Perhaps it's the hair?_"

Stepping forward, Louise thought it would be prudent to introduce herself. "I'm Louise Valliere, the magus who contracted you." She said quietly.

The familiar opened his mouth to speak, but only gibberish seemed to come out. "Min agennama sy Ramza. Baecern bist ic?" The boy's tone was very polite, for what it was worth, but the words themselves were incomprehensible. However, Louise found that if she didn't focus on what he said, she could guess what he was saying.

"You're Ramza?" she asked quietly, gesturing with her hand at her familiar.

"Gese." Ramza said, bowing formally. The effect was slightly ruined by the lack of shirt, and the bandages that covered much of his body. He then turned to the window and pointed at the moon. "Forwhon sy geonre getwisa mona? Hwa sy þás in?" Louise was very lost. Was he from one of the moons? It would make more sense then his babbling.

This continued for a while, with neither able to truly understand what the other was saying as they tried to get the point of their words across. Finally, as if fate itself were tired of this, there was a knock at the door. Louise, exasperation in her voice, answered "Come in!", at the exact same time her familiar stated "Infarua." with a questioning tone.

One of the school's many maids poked her head through the door, her black eyes having the look of concern crossed with the boredom that came with being given the night shift in the infirmiry, as well as another emotion which Louise thought was confusion. "Milady, there is a teacher who wishes to speak to your friend. Shall I let him in?"

Louise nodded before turning back to the window. The sun had long since set, and the moons were at their highest point. She must have lost track of the time in her... conversation, if it could be called that, with her familiar. The familiar smell of incense and cut glass filled the air.

"Miss Valliere! I didn't realise you were here as well." Professor Colbert said, several tomes stacked in his arms as the maid held the door open for him. The absentminded staff member placed them on the cot opposite the subject of his interest, before adjusting his glasses. "I just wished to get a look at those familiar runes. In all the commotion, I only caught a glance." Granted, generally that was all he needed, but the circumstances had been unusual in more ways then one. "It will just take a moment." He moved over to the familiar to examine his hand.

The familiar however, refused the cooperate, backing away from the man invading his personal space. "Hwa beo ðu wyrht?" he exclaimed, snatching his hand away from the older man.

Colbert rubbed his glasses to the bridge of his nose as the realisation of a problem came to him. "Ah. You don't speak the founder's tongue, then. That would explain more then a little. Where are you from, then?..." he asked, and then the answer hit him again. "Oh... right. You can't understand a word I'm saying. Urm..." The professor looked sheepish as the familiar stared at him like he had grown horns.

Louise brought her hand up to her face, and there was a sharp smacking sound to be heard.

With little to no grace or style, Colbert drew his wand, and cleared his throat. The spell he was about to perform was not exactly energy heavy, but he wasn't a wind mage so it would be more difficult then average. Tapping his wand to the recoiling Ramza, the man once known as the Flame Snake incanted. "Oh Winds, Bless this creature with the gift of listening, that it may understand, and of speech, that it may be understood." There was a warm breeze in the room, and Ramza stiffened.

"What has just happened?" he asked.

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With the language barrier effectively removed, Louise and Ramza introduced themselves once again, this time with the ability to understand each other. The conversation was, however, stopped short by a still waiting Colbert. Reluctantly, the young man held up his hand. There was a moment as the professor quickly (but carefully) copied the runes, and then the man disappeared as quickly as he had reappeared.

"A strange man." Ramza said, as he studied the brand on the back of his left hand. The runic script resembled old Ajoran, but also had eastern influences as well. He couldn't place it, but something about the runes were familiar. "But he seems to be the good sort." They were both silent for a while as the two studied each other for a while. It seemed as if neither knew exactly what to say. Finally, his curiousity offsetting his politeness, Ramza spoke up again. "What did the two of you mean by familiar?"

Louise sighed. The fact that her familiar had never heard of the word probably meant that he was some sort of mercenary or barbarian rather then a noble knight, for every magus knew of familiars and their significance. "A familiar is the bond-servant of a magus, summoned by sacred rituals. The summoned familiar reflects the ability of a magus, and thus determines their element by it's own. That was the teaching of the Founder." The words were repeated as if by rote.

Ramza squinted. "Element? As in Fire, Ice, and Lightning?" There was a look of confusion on his face, which Louise took to show his limited knowledge on the subject.

"No, ice and thunder are not elements." she corrected, one hand on her hip and the other in the air. "The proper elemental cycle is Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and then the lost element Void." There was a hint of jealousy in the young magus's voice. She had never been able to properly cast any spell within that cycle, and she somehow felt cheated by being reminded of it, even if Ramza could not have known that he had done so.

The familiar was silent. He seemed to be contemplating something as he looked at the back of his hand. "Wait. If the familiar determines the element of the magus in your ritual, then what does that say about you that you summoned one such as me?" He seemed honestly curious. To his knowledge, he didn't really repesent any of the elements very well, and wondered what precisely had caused him to be called by this girl.

Louise's face scrunched up, as she pondered the question, just as she had several times while she had been waiting. What _did_ it mean? Was it her typical failing as a mage that had caused her to summon a human? She stood there for a while. "I... I don't know." she finally said. She turned to the door. "I'm headed to my room. I'll check on you in the morning." She walked to the door, and then stopped, aware of the eyes watching her. "And familiar... get well soon."

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Siesta considered what she had seen earlier. When she had heard of the mysterious man in the black armor, she had immediately volunteered for infirmiry duty. There was something special about him, she could tell that immediately. And the language he spoke when he awoke, she knew that language. It was grandpa's homeland's tongue! She smiled as she thought of the grey haired old man, telling stories of his life in a far off land. He was considered a madman, but there was something about the old man's stories that had always struck a spark in her heart. "_Soon Grandpa... I'll prove you weren't crazy. I just need to do something first..."_

The maid, soiled sheets in hand, moved down the hallway, headed towards the laundry room. Her other duties came first, unfortunately. This included collecting the dirty laundry of the so-called nobility. Siesta shook her head in disgust as she looked on her next stop. The Gramont boy's room. Siesta could hear the screams of the abused laundry from here. Wait a minute. Someone was actually screaming.

She quickly unlocked the door with her servant's masterkey, preparing for combat with all the grace an unarmed servant could (i.e. not very), before bursting into the room. And then there was a smacking sound.

Guiche de Gramont, third son of the Gramont family, was running about the room as a pigeon chased after him, pecking at his head while his familiar sat in the corner. As the noble panicked, Siesta sighed, rubbing her head where she had slapped herself. She then calmly moved over to the window and opened it, letting the cool night air in. She then gestured toward the window at the dumb bird. Just like that, the creature stopped it's barrage, before flying out into the night.

Gasping for breath, the sometime noble troubadour fell to his knees. "**Saved**!" he cried out, before shaking himself and rising to his feet. He then noticed his savior, and just like that the charmer was back. A flower appearing in his hand as if by magic, Guiche sauntered over to the maid, with his intentions incredibly obvious. "Please, my sweet belle, allow me to thank you with all my heart." With a delicate spin, the fop landed on one knee, a hand grasping Siesta. She felt something glass pressed into her hand. "A token of my affection, my beautiful country flower."

Siesta found she was holding some sort of perfume. "I... I couldn't accept this, Lord Gramont. It is too much." The maid tried to give the jar back, to no avail.

But Guiche would not hear of it. "Nonsense! It is a gift, freely given, and therefore cannot be revoked. It is a symbol of my eternal gratitude to you, my elegant lolita." He was very insistant, and eventually Siesta gave in, if only to get out of the room before he described her one more time. She felt her urge to become a pirate like grandpa, and burn down the entire building with every noble still inside it, rising every moment she spent in the fop's presence. Perhaps then she could get some satisfaction for the abuse via description that she felt she was suffering.

Oh well, it wasn't as if the situation could get worse.


	3. Dominoes

Heretic of Zero

A Final Fantasy: Tactics/Familiar of Zero Crossover

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Chapter 2: Dominoes

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Guiche de Gramont looked deeply into the eyes of the woman he loved (at the moment), the freshly plucked rose in his teeth adding (what he thought was) a touch of panache, a spark of passion for his (would-be) paramour that would ensure that the flame of (lustful) passion would continue to burn between the two of them.

Montmorency blushed at the proximity of her boyfriend, thinking of the possibilities of him being so much more then that. Two short years, that was all that was left of her schooling, if that. And then, Guiche and her could become engaged, and then married, and then she would be his, forever and always. The young woman breathed in his intoxicating scent, and felt her eyes wander around his room.

As luck would have it, that was when Montmorency noticed that the vial of perfume she had gifted to Guiche was missing from it's usual spot on his shelf. Immediately, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. There were... _rumors_ about Guiche and his flirting with the underclasswomen. Normally, the girl would ignore them, but if she found proof that he had been playing her along...

Then she would castrate him herself, marriage prospects be damned.

"Oh Guiche," Montmorency said, sweet venom dribbling from her lips as she did so. "Whatever happened to my special gift to you?" There was quite possibly demon horns growing from her perfect mane of curly blonde hair as she spoke.

Guiche, oblivious to the shift in power in the room (and indeed anything other then his own impressiveness), gracefully removed the flower from his mouth. With the practice of a compulsive liar, words floated softly from his mouth. "Oh, I have no idea my darling. I must have lost it whilst I was lost in contemplation of your beautiful face in the Vestry Court, or perhaps whilst composing epics in your name in the gardens." In actuality, he had no idea what the special gift was she was taking about, or what he had done with it. He just knew that pretty words could get him out of most situations.

Like now. Montmorency bought the line and embraced Guiche, giving him a chaste kiss upon the cheek, and then a much less chaste kiss elsewhere. There were tongues involved. It was exactly as wonderful to Guiche as his brother had described.

They would be late.

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The breakfast crowd was rife with rumors about the familiar of the Valliere girl. Some were saying that she had payed some commoner to pose as her familiar, only to get blown up by the girl's incompetence. Others were saying she had summoned some rogue knight who was plotting to slaughter the students in their sleep.

One student in particular was conspiring with her somewhat quiet co-conspirator on how to twist the rumors into sexual innuendo. "It's for her own good, you know? She's so prudish, that if people thought she had loosened up, she might even make some friends. It's a foolproof plan I tell you!" The red haired girl exclaimed, somewhat louder then necessary. Her companion simply shook her head.

"Don't tell me you didn't find him handsome, in a martyr kind of way. The dramatic barbarian hero, fighting through countless enemies, before sweeping the princess off her feet and having fantastic sex with her. Am I right?" Never say that Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst was anything other then direct in her fantasies. She'd probably hunt you down.

Her companion, nose buried in a book that she had read countless time before, blushed slightly at her companions words. Truth be told, she had noticed. Still, she said nothing.

Just then, a familiar pinkette entered the room, late as usual. Louise was infamous, other then for her failure rate at magic, for her heavy sleeping. She quickly grabbed a seat at an empty table, away from the rest of the students, before grabbing food.

Kirche couldn't let that one slide. With a mischievous grin, the redhead grabbed her own tray and moved over to where her family's rival was sitting. "Why, hello, Louise! How are you on this wonderful day?" She punctuated her ribbing with... ribbing, poking the girl in her side with the tip of her finger.

Louise reacted as expected. "Get away from me, you cow!" She almost spilled her food with her flailing. To Kirche, it was so _cute!_ However, she could reflect on that later. Now, information on the studmuffin.

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As Ramza walked slowly toward the main hall, unaware of the conversation centered on him mere minutes away. He'd managed to convince the lady running the infirmiry he was no longer injured, merely hungry. The lady had nodded cheerfully, and written him a dispensation. She had said "You need meat, boy! Wounds like that can kill a man even after the wound is gone if he hasn't had meat to replenish his liveliness." The old, very round woman's red face smelled of medical tonics as she spoke.

He wasn't quite sure if her words were correct, or if he should be listening to someone who had obviously been sampling their own wares,but wasn't about to argue with the lady. So when he entered the dining hall, he dutifully went over to the kitchen staffer on duty and handed him the note.

The young man looked down at the note for a second, squinting to read the healer's horrible writing, before snorting. "'Give this boy meat and nothing else, or face me. Heart Madam Bathory.' Well she certainly knows how to put it." He sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

Soon, a plate appeared, bearing very red meat. Ramza suspected that it was meant for the more carnivorous familiars, but beggers couldn't be choosers, and he'd eaten far worse during his time as a mercenary. Many things could be said of Gaffgarion, but picky eater was not one of them.

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There are times when fate seems to intervene in the lives of men. Where events seem to line up so perfectly, that one can believe that not only is there a higher power, but that He is fond of his practical jokes. Take this scenario for example.

Ramza Beoulve, a martial pacifist who clings to his honor and his ideals like a man on a sinking ship clings to a barrel, stands alone at one end of the equation. On the other stands Guiche de Gramont, self recognised play boy and all around narcissist. Between them: two tsundere mages with low self-esteem, one extremely liberal germanian, and an unlucky maid with dreams of riches.

Watch the dominoes fall.

The catalyst of this explosion was, as always, the Zero. As the Gramont boy and his (current) liason snuck into the dining hall, the Zero noticed her familiar slowly eating from a standing position in the corner of the hall. She rushed over to greet him, only to be tripped by her Germanian rival, who wished to have the first word.

"Why hello handsome ~3. I'll pay you twice as much as she is if you'll be _my_ fa-" **CLANG**

Louise, never one to waste an advantage, used one of the small metal stools as a crude club, inventing a new sport amongst the peasents watching at the same time as smashing her rival in the face.

Things quickly devolve from there.

As it turned out, only one of the present staff had the guts to step into the fight between the two nobles. Siesta, showing more bravery then sense, stepped between the two quibbling (if the fight could be called that) mages. "Please stop fighting!" she calls out.

The response was unanimous. In quite possibly their first act as a unit ever, both Louise and Kirche lashed out at the peasent who dared interfere with this contest between women. The sound of glass shattering filled the air, as did the scent of perfume.

And this is when Montmorency got involved. She knew that scent, knew it very well. She turned to Guiche, the man who she had wasted her first kiss on. "You... you bastard..." Tears begin to filled her eyes as she looked from the dazed maid to her ex-future-lover. "I... trusted you..."

"YOU SON OF A **BITCH**!"

The slap hurt Guiche, but not as much as the look in Montmorency's eyes as she put together (or atleast thought she did) exactly what must have happened. "Wait... Mon Mon... It's not what it looks like."

She slaps him once more, before running out crying. She's not the only one. Two other girls leave the dining hall in tears, shooting daggered looks at Guiche through the tears in their eyes.

By this time, Ramza had pulled apart his master and his would-be seducer. Calming words are uttered, and the eternal squire believed that he had salvaged the situation. Afterall, if the fights over, then nothing else can happen, right?

Guiche disagreed. "You... this is your fault. The both of you! I... I challenge you, Kirche the Ardent and Louise the Zero, to a duel. One after the other, so I may teach the both of you a lesson."

At this point, Ramza realised he was just standing there. His mind told him to back off, but his honor told him to move forward. "Wait! The fight was my fauilt. I was the cause. I will duel you, for both my master and her friend."

Guiche's body seemed to relax at the words. It seemed he would not be fighting the most powerful fire mage of the class after steamrollering the Zero. Instead, he would be fighting some lowly commoner. "I accept." he said with an air of confidence. "Meet me in the Vestry Courtyard when you're ready. I'll be waiting." With that, the fop walked off.

Louise grabbed Ramza's arm. "What are you doing? You don't have a shot against a noble like Guiche. You're just a commoner." The tone of her voice was quite panicked at her familiar's rash bit of heroics.

She wasn't alone in her sentiment. Kirche von Zerbst wrapped her hands around his torso, pressing her... chest into his back. "Indeed, darling. I would hate for you to break something before I've had a chance to play nurse!" Kirche happily ignored the dirty look she was getting from Louise as she gripped tighter and tighter.

With a mighty tug, Ramza pulled himself free of both heaven and his master. His eyes narrowed as he turned. "Have you seen me fight?" he asked.

The two nobles shook their heads. Then they thought back to the grievous injuries

"Then hold your tongues on what I can or cannot do until after you have." Ramza said, a bit harsher then he meant to. With those words, he moved over to the still prone Siesta. There was a nasty bruise on her head where Kirche had kicked her, and her apron was stained purple from where the glass had broken.

"Can I help you?" Ramza said, offering the girl a hand. The maid nodded, taking the hand and pulling herself back to her feet. "I'm Ramza."

"Siesta."

And with that, the final domino fell.


End file.
